Summer is almost here and many teenagers will be hitting the workforce to earn a few extra dollars. Companies that hire teenagers should be aware that state and federal law restricts the employment of minors or "child labor."

First, here's a primer on Temporary Protected Status ("TPS"), a humanitarian designation. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") grants TPS to certain countries where conditions temporarily prevent its nationals who have left and come to the United States from returning safely to their home country.

Many countries are uniting for one simple cause: stopping child and forced labor. The U.S. Labor Department (DOL) is committed to stopping child labor and has adopted this as a key platform. On June 13, the World Day Against Child Labor, Carol Pier, Acting Deputy Undersecretary of the Labor Department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), addressed this issue on the DOL’s official blog.

If you plan to hire anyone under 18 years old for the summer, you should be thoroughly familiar with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act's child-labor limitations. The U.S. Labor Department enforces these rules strictly and aggressively. Don't count on good intentions and "close enough" to save the day if you get it wrong.

Employers can expect more investigative attention to child-labor restrictions. For one thing, the U.S. Labor Department has now adopted a harsher civil penalty structure. Moreover, in making this announcement, Labor Secretary Solis spoke of the "reinvigorated enforcement" of FLSA limitations upon work by minors.

Summer is approaching quickly, so employers should be up-to-speed on the federal Fair Labor Standards Act's child-labor limitations. These rules apply to any employee who is under 18 years old. The regulations are strictly applied; there is little or no room for error; and the U.S. Labor Department takes the requirements seriously.